Monday, November 16, 2009

Doctors in Philadelphia have found a way to reanimiate dead tissue. Let me be clear, as the original article is a little misleading. Doctors have found a way of prolonging decay and physical/mental death in patients who have been pronounced clinically dead.

When a person dies, their cells begin to deteriorate and die as well, leading to what we know as “death”. Prolonging this decay and starving cells and bacteria of oxygen can lead to prolonging one’s death. Children found at the bottom of pools have been successfully revived because their bodies were kept cold and limited of oxygen. During cardiac arrest, the heart stops beating – it’s usually fatal and people are often declared dead within minutes. Doctors at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital are bringing people “back from the dead”.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

There are many verses that speak about the dead rising first. The Bible actually speaks of the dead rising.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (New International Version)

16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Mark 12:26

And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

and the most interesting verse about the dead rising in the Bible is when Christ dies.

Matthew 27:45-53 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ?”that is, “ My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ?” 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, 52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

So you see even the Bible speaks of the dead rising. I speak to many Christians about this subject and it is one they do not like to talk about. Why? It is in plain black and white that the dead will rise in the "return of Christ". So if you are a Christian that is proof enough that there will be zombies. Call me crazy but that is even more horrific that the conservative nature of religion (christianity) and it speaks of the dead rising. Interesting yet ironic in the same sentence.

But this is just some of the many verses that explain the dead rising in the Holy Bible.

Here is a brief breakdown of the history of Halloween. By far the greatest holiday ever created.

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.The History of Halloween.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

Over the years I have seen and heard many questions regarding zombies. Some quite intelligent and thought provoking others, less so. However, there are several questions that have been raised that I have answered time and time again. So, to stave off the inevitable homicidal rampage a few more hours here are the answers to the questions that have been put to me must often. Now, shut up already!

What is a zombie?Okay, here is without a doubt the most common question. Firstly, what a zombie is not. A zombie is not your stoner neighbor. Though they may have the shambling, slack jawed, clueless look about them they are not the living dead, just the lifeless husk of the living. What a zombie is, by definition, is the living dead or undead. They have been brought to life or unlife by a virus that animates the dead bodies of those infected while live. You cannot turn a corpse into a zombie.

Do zombies eat brains?No, they do not. This is a pop culture misconception from the movies. Zombies don’t eat flesh either, not in the traditional sense of the words at least. They may consume flesh but they receive no nutritional value from it. They seek out and consume flesh only to try to infect the living and to add to their own numbers.

What kind of zombies are you talking about?For all intensive purposes on ZAC when we talk about zombies we are referring to the Max Brooks model from his book The Zombie Survival Guide, not the zombies from Night of The Life Dead, Resident Evil or 28 Days Later. Otherwise, by Max Brooks zombies we mean that the zombies are not intelligent, they cannot move quickly, they seek to infect you with their bite or through other fluid transfers. And, no do not go there you sick necrophiliacs!

How do you kill a zombie?Generally speaking, to kill a zombie you have to destroy the brain. This can be done a number of ways, but the most common ways are to crush the skull with a bludgeon of some sort or to place a well aimed shot between the eyes. Once you manage to kill the zombie it is also recommended that you burn the corpse to completely destroy any chance of infection.

Do zombies have super strength?No, a zombie is no stringer than the person who existed before they succumbed to the virus. The only difference is since a zombie lacks any inhibitors to stop it from over exerting itself then can but every once of strength into their grip. On a plus note, since the zombie is slowly decaying their strength will slowly decline and wane.

Are zombies smarter since they eat brains?I have actually been asked this question, the thought being that since zombies consume other people’s gray matter they must be adding to their own. No, zombies are not smart, they are little more than a plague of retards since they are using only the most basic functions of the mind to act and exist.

Do you suffer from insanity or delusions?No, I happen to enjoy both my insanity and delusions quite a lot. Thank you for asking, though.

Every day you will be exposed to potential infection due to the very nature of the enemy you will be fighting. Infection can come from a scratch, bite, or exposure to bodily fluids of the infected enemy.

Gear to prevent infection:

* Bloodborne pathogen prevention: A simple bandana over you face and safety glasses arent going to protect you from “splatter” infections. When fighting in close quarters or simply slipping in a pool of blood, you run a high risk of infection. For protection of your facial mucous membranes, (Eyes, ears, and nose) you need something capable of forming an airtight seal. Gas masks, fireman’s mask, and things of that nature are best, but if you cant get your hands on those, a ventilator mask and goggles would be suitable. A motorcycle helmet would work as long as it has a full face shield. If your face were covered in gore, the vents in front could become saturated with infected and it fluids could drip inside the helmet or become an aerosol inhalant to to the air being forced through the vents. Sweat could become mixed with infected fluids, and run down into your eyes or mouth, what is why things with airtight seals are best. That is also why just a bandana and glasses are a terrible idea. Your mouth is almost in direct contact with the bandana, and the fluid can seep through coming into contact with your mouth, causing infection. * Clothing: Anything that provides a suitable barrier to bites, scratches, and other ways infection could be transmitted. Military or tactical clothing is probably best due to the fact that it is by nature designed to resist failure from rugged use in battle conditions. A BDU top will resist snags and penetration from large briars, so it could keep you from being scratched, and possibly provide you with enough protection to keep your skin from being punctured by a zombie bite, although there probably will be a good deal of bruising. The same can be said for any other military/rugged use clothing. Thick denim, or even leather jackets or pants are also better protection than you think. In cold weather, layers can mean the difference between life and death. Not only from the elements, but from the zombie menace as well. Gloves should also be worn, as your hands will most often be the tools you use for your survival. A small nick, bite, or cut on an unprocected hand could cause you to become infected. Leather or military/tactical gloves will provide better protection than cotton garden gloves. It may also be a good idea to wear latex gloves under any other gloves. You may have to carry a wounded friend, move carcasses for burning, or other chores that would require your hands to be exposed to possible infection. Microscopic cracks in the skin on your hands are very common and are viable avenues of infection.

Exposure prevention procedures:Everyone should be checked when returning from outside of your base. Check for bites or wounds that could possibly cause infection. Men and women BOTH should be stripped to their underwear for examination upon arrival, and their clothes and gear taken to be immediately sanitized. Everyone returning will bathe in an anti-viral/anti-bacterial rinse, and should be taken to a debreifing session.

Quarantine:Anyone with bites or suspicious wounds will be quarantined in their own cell for as long as needed to determing if they are infected or not. (As we don’t know the time it will take for a person to turn from infection. Many factors could influence this: a person’s natural immunity, weight, metabolism, ect.) Quarantined individuals will be debriefed as soon as possible. Visitation with the quarantined will be allowed, but in a “Prison style” visitation area where the quarantined cannot have physical contact with the visitors.

It is possible to successfully fend off a zombie attack, according to Canadian mathematicians. The key is to “hit hard and hit often.”

Oh yes, somebody actually did a study on mathematics of a hypothetical zombie attack, and published it in a book on infectious disease. So, while we still don’t know what to do if a deadly asteroid takes aim at Earth, an unlikely but technically possible situation, we now know what to do in case of a zombie attack.

“An outbreak of zombies is likely to be disastrous, unless extremely aggressive tactics are employed against the undead,” the authors wrote. “It is imperative that zombies are dealt with quickly, or else we are all in a great deal of trouble.”

Having spent a fair amount of time mixing science with beer in the wee hours while trying to finish a thesis, I’m guessing that at some point, a graduate student who had spent far too many hours tweaking a mathematical model of infectious disease in the basement of a Canadian university said something like this: “What would happen if we made it so they could come back to life?”

This was followed by the other math students in the basement gathering around the computer, happily creating a plausible model for the outbreak of infectious zombie disease, and then brainstorming on how to make their model relevant.

“Clearly, this is an unlikely scenario if taken literally,” they wrote. “But possible real-life applications may include allegiance to political parties, or diseases with a dormant infection.”

Right.

Anyway, the model focuses on modern zombies, which are “very different from the voodoo and the folklore zombies.” It takes into account the possibility of quarantine (could lead to eradication, but unlikely to happen) and treatment (some humans survive, but they still must coexist with zombies), but shows that there is only one strategy likely to succeed: “impulsive eradication.”

“Only sufficiently frequent attacks, with increasing force, will result in eradication, assuming the available resources can be mustered in time,” they concluded.

And if we don’t act fast enough?

“If the timescale of the outbreak increases, then the result is the doomsday scenario: an outbreak of zombies will result in the collapse of civilization, with every human infected, or dead,” they wrote. “This is because human births and deaths will provide the undead with a limitless supply of new bodies to infect, resurrect and convert.”

picture-9How fast do we need to deal with the outbreak? Here’s the equation they used, where S = susceptibles, Z = zombies and R = removed. If an infection breaks out in a city of 500,000 people, the zombies will outnumber the susceptibles in about three days.

The real lesson to be learned here? Maybe being a mathematician wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

UPDATE: One of the authors wrote in to clarify that though most of the authors are students as I had guessed, he is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. And he spells his name Robert J. Smith? with the question mark on the end, as reflected in the corrected citation below.

I want to first of all thank you for taking me from my slumber world that we know today and for creating of world of havoc and hell.You started out as a little virus and have now grown into a monstrous vengeance from hell.So many people in the world did not take it lightly that this would happen but we "crazies" tried to warn the world that this would end up being the situation.As we try to figure out a way to protect ourselves and our families you run through town to town as if you were on a mission from hell itself.Understand this....You will be defeated, you will know wrath and pain again. People like me will not stop until each of you are released from the burden that has been put upon you.The Night of the Living Dead will be no more. Your destruction and turmoil will be a thing of the past. The members of the revolution that stood their ground and believed this apocalypse would happen have stood their ground. They have prepared, trained and educated as many as we possibly could. Now it is up to us to protect the rest of the world? Fuck That! This is not a battle but a war! A war against an enemy with no thoughts and only one mission to eat us all! Great odds, huh?Building our fortress, stockpiling supplies, ammo and guns, machetes, etc, this is what we do. So when you come around as the old Johnny Cash song says, we *the revolution* will be ready for your undead asses and we will show you that this war is real and that the living can show you undead bastards a thing or two about the will of living. So as you lay there with your brain that you crave so much laying next to you, remember that the zombie killah warned you through a letter you would never read.